When I Look At The Night Sky
By Pastor Tim Shaw
Winter camping has been one of the outdoor activities I have really enjoyed. What I have in mind when I say “winter camping” is backpacking on snowshoes or backcountry skis in the middle of winter. The first time I went on one of these snowy expeditions with a group of friends I did not have any experience skiing with a 40-pound pack on my back. I quickly earned the affectionate nickname “Timber” because of the number of times I crashed.
I know it sounds crazy to most people but I actually love camping in the snow. Yes, it can get really cold and, yes, you can spend a lot of time in your sleeping bag on a long winter’s night. To mitigate those below freezing temperatures, one of the things I learned to do was boil some water, fill a Nalgene bottle, tightly secure the lid, and throw it in your sleeping bag about 30 minutes before bed. When you jump in your sleeping bag, it will be a toasty 120 degrees in there. Perfect!
On one moonless night while camping near Carson Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, I looked up and saw that the night sky was ablaze with stars. I was stunned by the sheer number of stars that I could see. Away from the light pollution of any nearby city, I was in awe of how bright the sky was. There were countless stars overhead, reminding me of the greatness of the One who created it all. I was once again amazed that the Creator of the Universe knows my name, cares about my life and loves me.
King David must have had a similar experience because he wrote this in Psalm 8:3-9 (NLT):
When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—the moon and the stars You set in place—what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them?
Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic name fills the earth!
God has entrusted so much into our care. He has made us His undershepherds and has called you and me to care for what He created. That certainly includes all the animals David lists in his Psalm. But it includes so much more. We have been entrusted to care for the planet on which we live and we are called to care for all the people who live upon it. They, and everything on the Earth, belong to God, and He has charged us with the responsibility of stewarding it well.
Pete Grieg, commenting on this Psalm, wrote, “Whenever I catch a glimpse of the greatness of God — whether it’s under the stars or singing a song in worship—I find myself simultaneously diminished to a place of greater humility, and exalted to a place of greater authority. Without worship I would be doomed to choose between insignificance or arrogance. When I kneel I learn to rule.”
That last sentence has challenged me to remember that it is only as I kneel before God, acknowledging who He is and who I am, that I can become the kind of servant leader God calls me to be, the friend and family member He wants me to be, the member of society that my country needs me to be. The One who flung the galaxies into space is also the One who came to our small, beautiful planet in Jesus, and who died for the sins of our world. That act of sacrificial service on our behalf will forever outshine all the stars of the universe. So, let us kneel before this One who has given us life, and learn to shine like stars in our world. As the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to Christians in Philippi:
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” (Philippians 2:14-16 TNIV)
Prayer: Loving, gracious, merciful God, I kneel before You in humble gratitude that You have made a way for me to be in a relationship with You. Thank you for all that you have done and are doing for me. Teach me how to be one of your undershepherds, showing your love to others and bringing your shalom to Your world. Amen.
Yielding Prayer (by Pete Grieg)
Father God, I receive Your love for me;
Send me out to love the world for You.
Jesus Christ, I believe You live in me;
Send me out to show the world it’s true.
Holy Spirit, I perceive Your presence in my life;
Send me out to serve the world with You.
Amen
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